Moral Dilemma

1. Moral Dilemma
GEC 008

2. Definition of Dilemma
• is a situation where a person is forced
to choose between two or more
conflicting options, neither of which is
acceptable.
• the key here is that the person has
choices to make that will all have results
she does not want.

3. Definition of Dilemma
• For example:
A town mayor faces a dilemma
about how to protect and
preserve a virgin forest and at the
same time allow miners and
loggers for economic development
in the town.

4. Definition of Dilemma
• if a person is in a difficult situation but is not
forced to choose between two or more
options, then that person is not in a
dilemma.
– we can say is that the person is just experiencing
a problematic or distressful situation.
– the most logical thing to do for that person is to
look for alternatives or solutions to address the
problem.

5. Definition of Moral Dilemma
• are situations where persons, who are called
“moral agent” in ethics, are forced to choose
between two or more conflicting options,
neither of which resolves the situation in a
morally acceptable manner.
• When dilemmas involve human actions which
have moral implications, they are called
ethical or moral dilemmas.

6. Example
Lindsay is a deeply religious person; hence, she considers
killing humans absolutely wrong. Unfortunately, it is found
out that Lindsay is having an ectopic pregnancy. As is well
known, an ectopic pregnancy is a type of pregnancy that
occurs outside the uterus, most commonly in the fallopian
tube. In other words, in ectopic pregnancy, the fetus does not
develop in the uterus. Now, if this happens, the development
of the fetus will definitely endanger the mother. Thus, if
Lindsay continues with her pregnancy, then there is a big
possibility that she will die. According to experts, the best
way to save Lindsay’s life is to abort the fetus, which
necessarily implies killing the fetus, then Lindsay, as well as
the fetus, will die.

7. Three Conditions That Must Be Present For
Situations To Be Considered Moral Dilemmas.
1. The person or the agent of a moral action is
obliged to make a decision about which
course of action is best.
 the moral agent must choose the best
option and act accordingly.
 E.g. Lindsay may opt to abort the fetus
as the best course of action.

8. Three Conditions That Must Be Present For
Situations To Be Considered Moral Dilemmas.
2. There must be different courses of action to
choose from.
3. No matter what course of action is taken,
some moral principles are always
compromised.
by choosing one of the possible moral requirements, the
person also fails on others

9. Types of Moral Dilemma
There are several types of moral dilemmas, but
the most common of them are categorized into
the following:
1) epistemic and ontological dilemmas,
2) self-imposed and world-imposed dilemmas,
3) obligation dilemmas and prohibition
dilemmas,
4) single agent and multi-person dilemmas.

10. Epistemic Moral Dilemma
 Involve situations wherein two or more moral
requirements conflict with each other and that
the moral agent hardly knows which of the
conflicting moral requirements takes
precedence over the other.
 In other words, the moral agent here does not
know which options is morally right or wrong.

11. Epistemic Moral Dilemma
For example:
A father is ought to honor his
promise to his son to be home early,
but on his way home he saw a sick
old man who needs to be brought to
the hospital. Where does his actual
duty lie?

12. Epistemic Moral Dilemma
We need to note that we want a fuller knowledge
of the situation:
• Is an important purpose being served by my getting
home early?
• How serious is the condition of the sick old man?
One option must be better than the other; only,
it needs fuller knowledge of the situation.

13. Ontological Moral Dilemma
 Involve situations wherein two or more moral
requirements conflict with each other, yet
neither of these conflicting moral
requirements overrides each other.
 Neither of the moral requirement is stronger
than the other; hence, the moral agent can
hardly choose between the conflicting moral
requirements.

14. Ontological Moral Dilemma
For example:
A military doctor is attending to the needs
of the wounded soldiers in the middle of
the war. Unfortunately, two soldiers
urgently need a blood transfusion.
However, only one bag of blood is
available at the moment. To whom shall
the doctor administer the blood
transfusion?

15. We could not tell whether administering
a blood transfusion to soldier A is more
moral than administering a blood
transfusion to soldier B and vice versa.
Ontological Moral Dilemma

16. Self –Imposed Moral Dilemma
is caused by the moral agent’s
wrongdoings.

17. Self – Imposed Moral Dilemma
For example:
David is running for the position of town mayor.
During the campaign period, he promised the
indigenous peoples in his community to protect their
virgin forest just to gain their votes, but at the same
time, he seeks financial support from a mining
corporation. Fortunately, David won the elections, yet
he is faced with the dilemma of fulfilling his promise
to the indigenous peoples and at the same time
allowing mining corporation to destroy their forest.

18. Self –Imposed Moral Dilemma
 through his own actions, David
created a situation in which it is
impossible for him to be discharged
from both obligations.

19. World – Imposed Moral Dilemma
means that certain events in the
world place the agent in a situation
of moral conflict.

20. For example:
Sophie Zawistowska has been asked to choose which
of her two children, Eva or Jan, will be sent to the gas
chamber in Auschwitz. An SS doctor, Fritz Jemand
von Niemand, will grant a dispensation to only one of
Sophies’ children. If she does not choose which one
should live, Dr. von Niemand will send both to their
death. Sophie chooses her daughter Eva to go to the
gas chamber. Her son, Jan, is sent to the Children’s
Camp.
World – Imposed Moral Dilemma

21. Obligation and Prohibition Dilemma
Obligation dilemma are situations
in which more than one feasible
action is obligatory.
Prohibition dilemmas involve
cases in which all feasible actions
are forbidden.

22. The French student's brother was killed in 1940 by the
Germans, but his father nonetheless later abandoned the
family to the Germans. The student had to choose between
staying in France with his mother, who "found her only
comfort in him," and leaving to fight with the Free French
against the German occupation. After realizing he was
caught between moral principles-family and nation, or the
obligation to care for his mother and the obligation to
avenge his brother's death-he came to Sartre for advice. The
philosopher told his student that there was no correct or
incorrect decision. Neither moral codes nor the strength of
his affections for one or the other party could determine
what to do; rather, the student had to "invent" his own
solution to the problem.
“Sartre’s Students”

23. the agent "ought, all things considered,
to do A, ought, all things considered, to
do B, and she cannot do both A and B".
the moral agent is compelled to act on
two or more equally the same moral
options but she cannot choose both.
Single - Agent Dilemma

24. For example:
A medical doctor found out that her patient has
HIV. For sure, the medical doctor may
experience tension between the legal
requirement to report the case and the desire to
respect confidentiality, although the medical
code of ethics acknowledges our obligation to
follow legal requirements and to intervene to
protect the vulnerable.
Single - Agent Dilemma

25. occurs in situations that involve
several persons like a family, an
organization, or a community who
are expected to come up with a
consensual decision on a moral
issue at hand.
Multi – person Dilemma

26. requires more than choosing what
is right, it also entails that the
persons involved reached a general
consensus.
the moral obligation to do what is
right becomes more complicated.
Multi – person Dilemma

27. For example:
A family may be torn between choosing to
terminate or prolong the life of a family member.
An organization may have to choose between
complying with the wage law by cutting its
workforce or by retaining its current workforce
by paying them below the required minimum
wage.
Multi – person Dilemma

28.  On the one hand, the integrity of
the decision ought to be defended on
moral grounds.
 On the other hand, the decision
must also prevent the organization
from breaking apart.
Multi – person Dilemma